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| Megacorps are bad for gaming; Sony, EA, Activision, MS, and their ilk | |
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| Tweet Topic Started: Oct 24 2006, 09:29 AM (6,739 Views) | |
| sheath | Feb 10 2012, 08:57 AM Post #381 |
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I have been, and remain, non-sequitur
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Poor Sony, you thought you would rule the world and now the world doesn't love you anymore. http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2012-02-10-sony-credit-downgraded-by-standard-and-poors Sony credit downgraded by Standard and Poor's Benchmark credit rating service Standard and Poor's has reduced Sony's rating from A- to BBB+, warning that only the unlikely event of an upturn in the next 6-12 months would save the rating from dropping further. S&P's identified falling prices, falling demand and tough competition as the major factors affecting the company's chances of swift recovery. "The outlook on the long-term corporate credit rating is negative," read a statement detailing the changes. "We base the downgrade on our view that severe circumstances in Sony's mainstay electronics businesses make a strong recovery in earnings unlikely. "We base the negative outlook on the long-term corporate credit rating on our expectation that we could lower the ratings further if we see no meaningful sign of a recovery in Sony's earnings within six to 12 months." Whilst the short-term forecast for Sony was bleak, based largely on the difficult conditions faced in the TV and smartphone markets, S&P's do see the company recovering long-term. "Because of continuing net losses since fiscal 2008, Sony's profitability looks significantly weaker than that of its global industry peers. In addition, we believe its ratio of adjusted debt to EBITDA is likely to remain high for the next one to two years, even for companies in the 'BBB' category. Standard & Poor's also believes Sony's adjusted total debt to capital (excluding finance operations) will rise to around 40% as of March 31, 2012, from 35% a year earlier. "However, we base our one-notch downgrade on our view that Sony's profitability and financial standing will gradually recover in fiscal 2012 because there will be no repeat of one-off expenses due to floods in Thailand and impairment losses on stockholdings. Also, we believe Sony's strong short-term liquidity (excluding finance operations) continues to support its financial stability." In its last financial report, Sony predicted losses of ¥220 billion for the year. |
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www.gamepilgrimage.com Buy the games of yore before they are no more
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| Belpowerslave | Feb 10 2012, 05:07 PM Post #382 |
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...makes you wonder how much worse things will get when they release the Vita here in the states. After fucking *every* PSP owner in the ass by removing that PSP Game Transfer option that Japan got, I can see it getting a pretty hostile welcoming. Bel |
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| sheath | Feb 10 2012, 10:30 PM Post #383 |
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I have been, and remain, non-sequitur
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They really do seem to be a different company since they ousted Ken Kutaragi. Now Howard Stringer is out too and Kaz Hirai is going to be in charge. I suspect they are going to be a much more conservative profit oriented company in the future. That means no more global megalomaniac domination schemes already, and they have been pretty good about not claiming their systems will jack you into the matrix with the same interface as the movie, or render individual grains of wood in a door, for almost a decade now. |
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www.gamepilgrimage.com Buy the games of yore before they are no more
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| sheath | Feb 13 2012, 05:54 PM Post #384 |
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I have been, and remain, non-sequitur
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Classy http://technolog.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/02/13/10394035-sony-hikes-whitney-houston-album-prices-online?chromedomain=digitallife
And in other news... Edited by sheath, Feb 13 2012, 06:02 PM.
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www.gamepilgrimage.com Buy the games of yore before they are no more
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| sheath | Mar 6 2012, 09:53 PM Post #385 |
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I have been, and remain, non-sequitur
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I'll just quote the good part. http://www.bostonglobe.com/business/2011/12/14/thailand-floods-send-hard-drive-prices-soaring/suB0pqJADEMYtbepUgBVpM/story.html "The price surge has hammered revenues at California-based Intel Corp., which makes processor chips that drive 80 percent of the world’s laptop and desktop computers. Intel, which has a chip factory in Hudson, predicted on Monday that fourth-quarter revenue would miss expectations by $1 billion because the lack of hard drives would lead to a drop in PC sales. " |
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www.gamepilgrimage.com Buy the games of yore before they are no more
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| sheath | Mar 28 2012, 09:03 PM Post #386 |
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I have been, and remain, non-sequitur
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It's the Playstation FOUR! http://www.xbitlabs.com/news/multimedia/display/20120328153153_Sony_PlayStation_4_to_Drop_Compatibility_with_PlayStation_3_Used_Games_Report.html Sony Computer Entertainment’s next-generation video game system is reportedly code-named Orbis and is projected to be very powerful. But the new console, which is expected to be out in 2013, will not play currently available games and will lose compatibility with used games in general. Based on what is currently known about the PlayStation 4 is that it is based on a microprocessor and a graphics processing unit (GPU) designed by Advanced Micro Devices. Apparently, those chips will be powerful enough to support video games in 4096*2160 (4K) resolution and video games in stereo-3D mode in 1920*1080 (1080p) resolution, according to a report from Kotaku web-site. Since there are not a lot of 4K screens at the moment, the next-generation PlayStation “Orbis” appears to be intended for games that will shine starting from several years down the road. Apparently, the PlayStation 4 may be an even more ambitious endeavor than the PlayStation 3 in case of capabilities. But at the same time it is expected that its development will not be as expensive as that of the PS3. But the PS3 will have a number of compromises: it will not be compatible with PlayStation 2 or PlayStation 3 titles and it will not be exactly friendly with pre-owned/used games. Apparently, each particular Blu-ray game disc will be tied to a particular PSN account. A good thing is that if a disc becomes obsolete, the system should allow digital download, which means that it will sport a pretty large hard drive. An indirect confirmation to the fact that Orbis game console from Sony does exist in plans is that SCE’s developer web-site already knows the name and orbis.scedev.net leads to the front-page of the SCE DevNet web-site, something that does not happen in case of a random name. It is presently expected that the PlayStation 4 “Orbis” is on track for release for the holiday season in late 2013. Sony Computer Entertainment did not comment on the news-story. |
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www.gamepilgrimage.com Buy the games of yore before they are no more
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| Belpowerslave | Apr 2 2012, 07:37 PM Post #387 |
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http://www.gametrailers.com/side-mission/2012/04/02/ea-makes-it-to-final-round-of-worst-company-in-america-competition/ Let's put our vote in now... Bel |
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| sheath | Apr 2 2012, 08:45 PM Post #388 |
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I have been, and remain, non-sequitur
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Yeah, Electronic Arts is solely responsible for the last ten years of ever increasing megapublisher nonsense. The NFL exclusivity contract was just the biggest most obvious sign. I really blame gamers for this eventuality. For me, a vote between Bank of America and Electronic Arts is like a vote between the average American Presidential candidate and Joseph Stalin. -edit- I just read the consumerist article. I am continually surprised that nobody knows about EA's NFL contract, when did they first make that, 2004? Cripes it just blows my mind how little attention that grabbed, it put two or three of the biggest software developers directly out of their biggest revenue stream, and nobody knows about it. It's a wonderful world. Edited by sheath, Apr 2 2012, 09:09 PM.
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www.gamepilgrimage.com Buy the games of yore before they are no more
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| sheath | Apr 5 2012, 08:10 AM Post #389 |
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I have been, and remain, non-sequitur
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http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2012-04-04-ea-responds-to-worst-company-label-from-consumerist EA this week was selected by more than 250,000 votes on The Consumerist as the "worst company in America for 2012." EA has just provided GamesIndustry International with a response to this "Golden Poo Award." "We're sure that bank presidents, oil, tobacco and weapons companies are all relieved they weren't on the list this year. We're going to continue making award-winning games and services played by more than 300 million people worldwide," said John Reseburg in EA Corporate Communications. EA earned 64 percent of the vote in the final round, going up against Bank of America. The Consumerist commented, "Readers ultimately decided that the type of greed exhibited by EA, which is supposed to be making the world a more fun place, is worse than Bank of America's avarice, which some would argue is the entire point of operating a bank." "To those who might sneer at something as 'non-essential' as a video game company winning the Worst Company In America vote: It's that exact kind of attitude that allows people to ignore the complaints as companies like EA to nickel and dime consumers to death." Frankly, this whole vote on The Consumerist appears rather ridiculous on its face. Forbes summarized it best: "The plights of the gaming industry simply don't compare with BofA's actions resulting in people literally losing their homes and savings... EA is widely loathed, and they've brought that reputation down on their own heads, but they're loathed for reasons that pale in comparison to basically any of the big mortgage companies and banks involved in the housing crisis and financial collapse." EA may not be liked by some, but it's worth noting that the company has been very progressive in its support of LGBT content, offering players of its BioWare games like Mass Effect and Star Wars: The Old Republic the option to engage in same-sex relationships. The publisher has been the target of an anti-gay campaign from Christian fundamentalists as a result. |
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www.gamepilgrimage.com Buy the games of yore before they are no more
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| Belpowerslave | Apr 5 2012, 08:55 AM Post #390 |
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You know what kills me about all this complaining that EA beat out BofA? They blatantly ignore the NFL license thing. I mean, that is a *real, working legal monopoly* and no one seems to care. I would have thought that, at least once, someone would have mentioned it on all these sites that are commenting. I mean, "nickel and dime-ing" people to death is one thing, and you don't have to pay for the stuff if you don't want it...but when it comes to the NFL, there's no choice, you are forced to play Madden if you want the licensed teams and players. Wears me out to no end... Bel |
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| Belpowerslave | Apr 10 2012, 10:37 AM Post #391 |
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http://news.yahoo.com/sony-sees-record-6-4-billion-net-loss-065821766.html "Sony sees record $6.4 billion loss on tax hit" "TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan's Sony Corp flagged a record $6.4 billion annual net loss, double an earlier forecast and a fourth straight year of red ink, as it writes off deferred tax credits, heaping more pressure on its new CEO to turn around the electronics giant. Sony, which plans to axe 10,000 jobs - around 6 percent of its global workforce - according to media reports this week, has been hammered by weak demand for its televisions and overtaken by more innovative gadget rivals such as Apple Inc and Samsung Electronics." ...no wonder they are launching the PS4 so much earlier than expected. They've gotta get something out there that people will actually flock to buy. I don't think the Vita is doing as well as they had hoped... Bel |
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| Belpowerslave | Apr 12 2012, 01:58 PM Post #392 |
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http://www.wired.com/gamelife/2012/04/keiji-inafune-qa/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Gamelife+%28Blog+-+Game|Life%29 Here we go! "Q&A: Mega Man Creator Wants Japan to Admit Failure" "“Man, Japan is over. We’re done. Our game industry is finished,” said Inafune..." Bel |
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| sheath | Apr 12 2012, 10:43 PM Post #393 |
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I have been, and remain, non-sequitur
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Yup, and that quote was from 2009, last year Inafune described Capcom's policy of "nothing but sequels." Similarly, Yu Suzuki explained why he left Sega in 2004 because they simply would not allow anything new to be made. We've been bitching about this for longer than that and look what we have, a forum with three or four posters. The crash happened when this forum slowed down. Forget that, the crash happened when Sega went third party and all but their most popular franchises flopped just because of the enormous sea of licensed crap that was already on the shelves. I'd say we let this happen, but we fought this tooth and nail for no benefit of our own. The game industry leached and drained the masses until they moved on, and now we have a few huge sequel factories who badly re-release the games that made them big in the first place. If touch screen phones weren't such bad gaming devices for action games, I'd love to just move onto them. Really though, I don't think anybody is ever going to top what has already been made, 2D, 3D or otherwise. |
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www.gamepilgrimage.com Buy the games of yore before they are no more
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| Belpowerslave | Apr 16 2012, 01:20 PM Post #394 |
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Well, and I know this is the *last* thing you're going to want to hear, but if you're really serious about moving over phones for gaming, you really ought to consider one of those X-peria phone models. They've got a slideout controller, are damn powerful and people rave about the gaming on them. With the Android Market, plus virtually every emulator on the market being available for Android OS it could very well remove any need for a handheld gaming system. I mean, just with that LG Optmius Slider that I have, I haven't really touched the 3DS or GBA in a good while, and I'm playing through various RPGs I'd *never* have the time to play through otherwise. I mean, dude, look at some of these fucking games! https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.vectorunit.green&feature=top-paid#?t=W251bGwsMSwyLDIwNiwiY29tLnZlY3RvcnVuaXQuZ3JlZW4iXQ.. https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.vectorunit.blue&feature=top-paid#?t=W251bGwsMSwyLDIwNiwiY29tLnZlY3RvcnVuaXQuYmx1ZSJd Some of those motherfuckers even run in 3D mode, via the HDMI port out to your HDTV or monitor! Then, you've got all these emulators: https://play.google.com/store/search?q=emulator&c=apps Fucking MSX emulator...who would even bother...yet, there it is! I'm having a blast with that "MD.emu" Genesis, SMS and Sega CD emulator(we're hoping for GG support at some point too, as SCD was just added). Playing through Shining Force right now, and even managed my way through QuackShot(it was my test rom just to see the quality of the emulation, ended up playing all the way through it). I will admit that playing any sort of action game with the keyboard just doesn't pan out, but RPGs and slower adventure games are fine. With that X-Peria, you'd have a full controller or even an analog stick! Plus, get this: Any Bluetooth controller device, like the Wii-mote, can be used to play games on your phone if the emu supports it(most do)! Think about that, you could get one of those ultra-powerful X-Peria phones and use it at your mobile gaming device, then plug it in to the TV when you get home and use it for a fucking emu box! I would loved to of gotten one, but I just don't have the money for it right now, nor did I want to go with anyone that was going to lock me in a contract. Bel |
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| sheath | Apr 16 2012, 07:46 PM Post #395 |
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I have been, and remain, non-sequitur
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I still need to give that android Genesis emu a shot. I'm really not that into portable gaming, and I like finishing games in digital format even less. But it could be cool to have for whenever I'm on the road or whatever. |
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www.gamepilgrimage.com Buy the games of yore before they are no more
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| Belpowerslave | Apr 18 2012, 04:01 PM Post #396 |
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http://games.yahoo.com/blogs/plugged-in/why-end-60-video-game-near-181412574.html Why the end of the $60 video game is near Would be nice... Bel |
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| sheath | Apr 19 2012, 10:15 AM Post #397 |
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I have been, and remain, non-sequitur
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I'm going to enjoy every minute as the market shifts away from these wanna-be hollywood games toward casual portable games that cost nothing. Every time some "core" gamer whines about it I'm going to remind them of what they did to Action gaming when they flooded to a DVD player with mediocre gaming capabilities. |
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www.gamepilgrimage.com Buy the games of yore before they are no more
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| Belpowerslave | Apr 26 2012, 10:36 AM Post #398 |
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http://news.yahoo.com/nintendos-hard-choices-soft-landing-184358644.html "Nintendo's hard choices for a soft landing" The two best parts: "Any drastic strategy shift that would dispatch the Mario brothers into the realm of Android and Apple's iOS operating system would likely require a change at the top of Nintendo, said Macquarie's Gibson. And that likely won't happen for a couple of years until the Wii U is shown to be a clear failure, he added." "...until the Wii U is shown to be a clear failure", that cracks me up to no end. I like to picture The Architect from The Matrix Reloaded saying it...;) "Unlike money-losing Sony, where time is running out to counter the pounding it's getting from Apple and South Korea's Samsung Electronics, Nintendo, sitting on oodles of cash it made selling the Wii - about $14 billion - at least has time to mull its choices." "...money-loosing Sony", too good. Bel |
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| sheath | Apr 27 2012, 06:08 PM Post #399 |
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I have been, and remain, non-sequitur
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Here's a good one. Even though most consumers have and continue to argue that megacorps are not bad for gaming, it's been a problem from the beginning of consumer products. http://brainz.org/12-format-war-losers/?utm_source=scribol.com&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=scribol.com If this were going to properly include the piano, it would have discussed how acoustic guitars replaced the piano in the classical era, because they were cheaper, not because they sounded better. Edited by sheath, Apr 27 2012, 06:13 PM.
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www.gamepilgrimage.com Buy the games of yore before they are no more
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| sheath | Apr 29 2012, 10:24 PM Post #400 |
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I have been, and remain, non-sequitur
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Irony abounds in this old Macintosh commercial. Edited by sheath, Apr 29 2012, 10:25 PM.
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www.gamepilgrimage.com Buy the games of yore before they are no more
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6:26 PM Jul 10